More on the jail commission

The Texas Tribune's Brandi Grissom looks at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards in a piece well-timed with the short note in today's paper on the county's efforts to stay in good shape with the commission.

"Thirty-five years after lawmakers created the commission to regulate county jails, advocates are calling for change in its makeup, worried about potential conflicts of interest and a lack of representation from fields outside of law enforcement. Experts in mental health or drug addiction, for instance, "could bring to bear a larger array of solutions to the many problems jails face,” says Diana Claitor, director of the Texas Jail Project. Commission Executive Director Adan Muñoz — a former sheriff himself — counters that calls for change are unwarranted. The commission, though dominated by law enforcement interests, remains open to alternative perspectives from the public, he says. “There is no way, shape or form that anyone is deterred from speaking to this group,” Muñoz says. But at least one lawmaker says it may be time for a change."